Saito Masatsugu - Rakuentenshi 楽園天使

[michifugu]

Okay, so I finally got Saitom-sensei’s artbook -Rakuentenshi/楽園天使-, which mostly features Rakuen Tsuihou artwork—some of which was previously posted on Twitter and some that hasn’t been released publicly. This artbook was super limited and, if I’m not mistaken, was sold at the last COMITIA. I think I ordered it in early January, so it must’ve been the Winter COMITIA.

Anyway, I was so excited to get this artbook because I’ve always wanted to have a Saitom-sensei artbook on my shelf. I’ve been a fan of his work since Rakuen Tsuihou and Xenoblade 2 (though even before XB2, I already liked his bishoujo figures and would love to own one someday).

Without further ado, let’s check out some of the art! I won’t post too much, though :P.

First, here’s a closer look at the cover.

Angela looks so beautiful here! If you’ve paid attention to Saitom-sensei’s art style, you can tell his work has improved a lot since Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3. The eyes in particular look much crisps, and even though the face still retains that moeness softness, Angela still comes across as quite mature.

And this is the art from the first page.

I love that he’s still using the same coloring style he used in his Xenoblade artwork. I definitely love the shading and the sketchy feel of it!

Also, here's plenty of doodles!


So far, the artbook is probably around 20–30 pages, and it contains a lot of Rakuen Tsuihou art that Saitom-sensei has uploaded on Twitter—but there’s also plenty that hasn’t been posted publicly. It’s a pretty solid zine overall. Since this isn’t a commercial book and more of a doujin release, don’t expect thick pages. However, if you’re a Rakuen Tsuihou fan, you might want to grab this artbook because it’s filled with fun illustrations! And if you’re a fan of Saitom-sensei’s work in general, this mini artbook is definitely worth adding to your collection, especially since it’s a limited print.

I’m not sure if Saitom-sensei will ever reprint this, but if he does—you have to get it!
Honestly, this just makes me want to buy his other artbooks from his Booth.pm shop. Hopefully, one day, Saitom-sensei will release a fully commercialized artbook, because I would absolutely buy it.

Also... I still need to get the Xenoblade artbooks too. They’re hard to find here and pretty expensive, but I will get my hands on them someday!